Where are you going to take the kids to see a genuine shrunken head, two-headed calf or Botticelli's Venus made of toast, now that the 4-year-old Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum near Jackson Square in the French Quarter has closed?

Tim O'Brien, vice president of communications for Ripley Entertainment Inc. in Orlando, Fla., said the reason for the closure was simply the relative lack of tourist traffic, that "didn't improve to the level we needed to sustain the business," since the museum reopened in February 2006.

Local manager Antoinette de Alteriis said there were other complications. The cost of hurricane damage to the air conditioners, rugs and walls has not yet been covered by the museum's insurance, nor is it eligible for governmental aid, she said. Worse yet, the inadequate air-conditioning puts delicate parts of the collection in danger during the summer heat.

Most of the 543 oddities have been moved to Ripley's headquarters in Orlando for storage. Though President Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald's car, a huge piece of the Berlin Wall, a large jade sculpture and the world's largest rubber tire will remain in storage in the Crescent City until they're moved to a new Ripley's location. De Alteriis said the 12 staff members are looking for other employment.

Lamenting the loss of the French Quarter family destination, de Alteriis pointed out that even Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie had brought the kids to Ripley's.
The giant tire will be the last object removed from the museum at 620 Decatur St. Get one last look when it's rolled out between 7 and 9 a.m. Thursday.